


Something to Remember

by Nauze



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Genderbending, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Eventual Romance, F/M, Female Neville Longbottom, Healing, Hermione Granger is a Good Friend, Light-Hearted, No Bashing, POV Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley is a Good Friend, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:49:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29315862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nauze/pseuds/Nauze
Summary: Evelyn 'Eve' Longbottom was the only daughter of two disabled war heroes, and grew up with a loving grandmother that allowed her to find her own identity. Follow her journey as she discovers herself, friendships, and maybe love, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Fem!Neville.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Original Female Character(s), Neville Longbottom/Harry Potter
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> AN: First off, I want to thank AsphodelRose87, Frickles, AppoApples, Saliient91, Petrificus Somewhatus, and last but not least, gomez36000 (AKA Liberty Prime) for pushing and encouraging me over the last month to write a prompt I had for over a year. This would not have been written without any single one of them. So thanks.
> 
> I also want to shoutout every single of my authors: Taliesin19, SalTal Studios, Firefawn, TriageThePotterFan, Adamantiumsleep, BlackPhoenixI, najex, Ajjaxx, as well as the six above, so check my profile to click and go to their stories. I do or did beta for all of them, and I love their stories, so do check them out!
> 
> This is my first attempt at writing, and I'm not native, so forgive me for weird/dumb idioms. Some things get lost in the sauce (IE: my head is a mess). This was crossposted with FFN.

"Granny! Tell me a story about mum!" Eve said, face flushed from the frigid winter air.

Augusta tutted. "Not while you're all wet and cold. Don't want you to catch another flu."

"But Granny, I'm fiiine. Tell me another one, please?" Eve just pouted and made big, puppy eyes at her grandmother, to no effect on the no-nonsense, austere widow.

"I said no, Evelyn! Now go inside, wash up, and I'll make you some hot chocolate to warm you up. And if you behave, I might consider your request."

Eve just nodded and hopped out of the bench they both had been sitting out on the porch, overlooking the grounds of Longbottom Manor. The Yule had always been hard on Eve; she would get confused about meeting her parents at St. Mungus and reconciling the image she had in her mind, based on stories Augusta and her Uncle Algie would tell her about Frank and Alice.

So Augusta, despite having raised a son, and raising him well, was still new to raising a girl, and combined with the fact that she'd been grieving for both Frank and Alice, she latched on to Evelyn like she hadn't with Frank, and couldn't not spoil her granddaughter a little bit.

As she was magicking a couple cups of hot chocolate in her kitchen, Augusta heard the telltale tip taps of Eve coming down the stairs and sent flying a few biscuits on a tray to the living room. Soon, she was done and brought both cups with her, settling down next to Eve on the sofa.

"Thanks, Granny," Eve said demurely as Augusta handed her the cup.

"It's fine, dear. Now, which story I haven't told you yet about Alice…let me think…ah, have I told you about the day Lily went into labour?"

"I don't think so, Granny, and what's labour?"

"Oh, it is when mummies are about to bring their babies to the world. Anyways, Alice was still at St. Mungus- "

"Ooh, I love going there, they always give me lollipops!" Eve offered her Granny an innocent, gap-toothed smile.

"Evelyn, don't interrupt me, or I will stop telling you the story." Augusta scolded, glowering at the girl, but continued, "Well… Since Alice had just given birth to you and was in the room next door to Lily's, we heard when the Potters arrived, and dear Merlin, what a ruckus. I never knew Lily had such a set of lungs!" she chuckled, reminiscing about that lovely, and slightly weird day.

"Why was she screaming?"

"It hurts a lot when mummies go into labour, dear. And can take hours, even days for some unfortunate souls, to be over." At this, you could hear Eve swearing I'll never have babies, but Augusta chose to ignore it.

"Alice's was short but she swore like a sailor, I don't think even Franklyn knew some of the words she used…" Augusta drifted off, thinking back to that delightful, albeit stressful day. No matter how many years had passed, the pain of losing her son and daughter-in-law still left an aching hole in her heart. One that slowly but surely was being filled by her lively granddaughter.

"Granny?" Eve said, worried from seeing such a frown on her grandmother's countenance.

Augusta shifted on the sofa, broken out of her reverie, and carried on, "I'm fine, dear… As I was saying, we heard the Potters, and their friends, arrive at St. Mungus. Lily was making such noises, Alice got up and went to check, afraid something was wrong. Turns out, Lily was yelling at James and Sirius, who took their sweet time to get home after a night of… doing their jobs." She scowled, thinking about Black and the war.

"Lucky them, they already were at the hospital, because Lily managed to grab hold of her wand, and they got even more cursed and hexed than they had been when they got there." Chuckling together with her granddaughter, Augusta poured herself more tea for her parched throat.

"Then Lily spotted Alice and she had a complete turn in mood. She started babbling how she needed to know proper digging techniques and if Alice knew any shovelling spells, and asked for places where the Aurors never patrolled… Hmm, perhaps it wasn't that big of a turn, looking back," Augusta said, chortling to herself, to Eve's confusion.

"What does digging have to do with anything?"

"You'll understand when it's your turn, my dear," the still-chuckling Augusta responded. "Alice, the sweet girl she was, just nodded and told her random things until we all, except for James, got expelled from the room, as it was nearly the time for baby Harry to be born."

Pausing to nibble on a cookie, she cleared her throat and remembered correctly. "It actually took a few more hours, all the while Lily screaming and swearing at James, but Harry eventually arrived, and he was almost the cutest baby in the whole hospital, with those big eyes of his." Her mouth curved into a teasing smile.

"Almost?"

"Well, of course, honey, you were also there, remember? I think it is safe to say, you are the cutest baby to ever live," Augusta said, tickling Eve senselessly.

Eve could barely breathe by the time the tickling stopped, and only by Augusta's magic did their hot-chocolate not spill all over the sofa.

Blowing out her cheeks and taking a deep breath, Augusta resumed her tale. "Then, after Lily had slept for a while, they called us in, and Alice brought you over to meet Lily and James, and when she laid you down next to Harry, you poked his eye, then he grabbed your tiny, little hand and didn't let go. You both ended up napping for nearly thirty minutes! It even gave time for that poor boy Peter to leave and grab a camera for us to take a few pictures," she gushed, nostalgia and hormones flooding her memory, prompting her cooing and reached out to brush Eve's cheek.

"Can I see them, Granny?" Eve asked, almost dozing off after a long day of playing in the snow, capped by their tickling war.

"If I can find them, sure. I'm not sure if we got a copy or if it stayed with the Potters, and considering how their house… Well, I will look for it, my dear." She rubbed her chin in concentration.

"It made us wonder if you two would ever grow up to be friends, which was very likely then, seeing as Alice and Lily bonded over after school, alas, it was not meant to be. Now Harry is with some other family, according to Dumbledore, and your parents…"

Augusta, noticing how Eve had fallen asleep with her head on her lap, put their cups down on the table, replaced herself with a pillow, and wrapped her beloved grandchild in a comforter to keep her warm.

"Sleep well, dear, and I hope you'll meet young Harry at Hogwarts."


	2. Chapter 1

“Now, you be a good girl, don’t get into trouble, and don’t forget that Minnie invited you for tea on the fifteenth. I will owl anything you left at home. Have a fantastic term, my dear,” Augusta said, stroking the young girl’s hair with her hand, on the brink of tears at the prospect of being away from her granddaughter for the first time since she was a toddler. 

Platform Nine and Three Quarters was complete mayhem, as usual, with children running around, owls hooting and cats yowling, parents crying and teens laughing. To Augusta, however, everything faded to background noise; nothing but Evelyn mattered at this moment. She’d be without her reason to laugh and cry, to comfort and scold, to tell stories and listen to ludicrous but delightful childish fantasies. 

She’d be without her reason to continue, if only for just a few months. But she would put on a brave face, to encourage ‘her’ child that everything would be okay, that Eve should only concern herself with her studies, making friends, and enjoying herself, as any child her age should.

“Yes, Gran, I know. And I’m not supposed to call her Minnie at school, I know that too, no need to go over the whole lecture again, I haven’t forgotten it yet.” Eve scowled for a second, trying to pretend she was annoyed at her grandmother but failing after meeting Augusta’s knowing eyes. Breaking into a smile, Eve kissed her gran before saying, “I’ll be fine, and I’ll have Rufus here to protect me!” 

Rufus, a seemingly normal-looking tortoise, was a gift from her Uncle Algie, a hybrid of a Diricawl and a magical sea-turtle, bred by Merlin knows what means, who had a penchant for apparating anytime Eve was away for longer than 5 minutes, leaving the girl in a state of constant worry from him being hurt or lost.

“Yes, well, the day Rufus protects you from anything other than lettuce will be the day Dumbledore dyes his beard pink and joins the Weird Sisters. Now go, have fun, and be safe.” Augusta gave a watery chuckle as she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.

“Bye Gran, I’ll write you tomorrow to tell you my House,” Eve said, hugging her grandmother one last time.

XXXXXXX

“Hello, can I sit here?” 

A bushy-haired brunette with a slight frown on her face asked, after knocking on her ajar compartment door.

“Sure, but can you do me a favour? Can you look over my things real quick while I go to the loo? I was scared of losing the compartment to a large group, so I’d been waiting for someone to hold my spot,” Eve babbled as she got up and left in a hurry, leaving a now bewildered girl in her wake.

A few minutes later, she returned, much more sedately, until she remembered she hadn’t introduced herself to the other girl. Fighting to hold back an awkward chuckle and losing, she sat down opposite the other girl. “Hello, sorry… for that. I’m Evelyn, but call me Eve. And thanks for the help, really appreciate it.”

“Oh, it was no problem. I understand, I’d feel uncomfortable leaving my belongings behind as well. So, you’re a first-year too? What house do you think you’ll get into? I read all about them, and I’m really hoping to get into Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw would suit me well enough, I think. Honestly, I’m just so excited to be learning magic, any house would work! Are you from a magical family? I’m muggleborn, my parents are dentists, so I read every book I could to learn as much as possible. Do you think I’ll be behind the others? Oh, I forgot, I’m Hermione Granger, pleasure to meet you.” Now it was Eve’s turn to be bewildered by Hermione’s machine-gun approach to communication.

“Err, pleasure. In order, yes, I’m a first year, I don’t know, but I want Gryffindor, like my parents. Yes, my family has been magical for generations and generations. I don’t think so, there’s loads of muggleborn every year. My gran says it doesn’t matter, that it all comes down to how studious you are. But then again, she loves telling me how my parents always got O’s in their tests, and that I should follow in their footsteps. So I don’t know…” Eve trailed off, trying to remember if her grandmother had shared any tidbit about muggleborns to assuage her travel companion.

“I see, thank you. What do your parents do, if they got… O’s, you said? Those are high or low grades? I’m glad it means I’ll just have to study hard to catch up. It’s not like I don’t love doing it anyways. By the way, why do you have an empty cage with you?” Hermione said, trying to settle her nerves by focusing on something that had been bothering her since she got into the compartment.

“Empt- Crap, crap, crap, that damn turtle, where did he go now?” Eve said as she jumped to her feet and started looking beneath the benches and every other inch of their compartment. “Rufus loves disappearing on me, thinks it’s funny, I bet. I just hope he hasn’t been squished by any of the students in the corridor. Can you help me look for that silly dinosaur-wannabe?”

Hermione promptly stood up to help Eve when she remembered, “Well, sure, but what about our things?”

“Aww...shoot. Okay, I’ll go, you keep an eye on the corridor, see if he shows up, he’s about the size of a bludger. I’ll be right back, see ya!” Eve said quickly, in her rush to search for her pet.

“But I don’t know what a bludg- And she’s gone. Oh well, I guess I should ask around… and now I’m talking to myself. Great.” After some more mumbling from Hermione, she stuck her head out the door looking for the elusive bludger-sized turtle.

XXXXXXX

After going to the end of the train and back to their compartment, asking everyone who deigned themselves gracious enough to respond a firstie, she returned empty-handed to Hermione, who was still keeping vigil of the corridor for any sign of loose reptiles.

“No luck, Eve?” Hermione asked, concern etched upon her brow on noticing her companion’s complexion. Despite being fairly outgoing, Eve was still embarrassed to ask older students for help, especially when they would either treat her as a toddler or as a piece of useless cardboard. The best she’d gotten was the odd ‘No, sorry’.

“He’s nowhere and no one seems to have seen him, at least not on this side of the Express. My fear is that he apparated outside the train and hurt himself.” Eve sat on one of the benches, holding her head in her hands and rubbing her eyes.

“What’s that? And do you want me to check the rest of the train for you? We trade, I search, you hold.” Hermione tried being comforting, patting awkwardly Eve on the arm.

“Thanks, I’d appreciate it. And apparition’s like going from one place to another in an instant, a magical way of transportation. Rufus apparently inherited this trait from his feathery side. I’m just glad he doesn’t shed his shell.” Eve smoothed her skirt, sitting up straighter, trying to compose herself.

XXXXXXX

“Found him! Or rather, another boy did, he was playing with his rat, trying to bite the tail off of it. Quite the rude boy, he flipped me the bird just because I told his nose was dirty. And you won’t believe it, I found Harry Potter! He’s coming with us to Hogwarts, gonna be in our year. He’s so famous, it’s astonishing how he survived what he-” Hermione babbled as she handed Rufus back to her upset owner, who promptly got up and squished her newest friend in a hug, shocking the other girl into silence.

“Thank you so much, Hermione! I was worried sick about him. I should probably go thank the boy. What was his name? And yes, I know Harry’s coming to school with us, we were born a day apart.” Eve filled the silence as she fussed over Rufus, turning to look at her friend when she got no response. “Hermione? You there?”

“Oh, yes, yes, sorry. Ron Weasley, the redhead boy with the rat. They’re about two cars away from us, halfway in,” Hermione said, trying to surreptitiously hide her teary eyes by looking away.

“Kay, thanks again, Hermione.”

XXXXXXX

“Excuse, I’m looking for Ron Weasley.” Eve knocked and stuck her head in the compartment she assumed contained said boy. 

“Yes? Who’re you?” the redhead boy responded, furrowing his forehead at being sought after, and not Harry Potter.

“I’m Eve Longbottom, Hermione said you had been taking care of my turtle, Rufus. So I came to thank you for it. He tends to jump around when the mood strikes.” Eve smiled thinking about her pet’s antics, despite the worry he usually causes her.

“That bloody menace nearly snapped Scabber's tail off, I wasn’t taking care of him, I was holding him away from my rat!” His face reddening as he told her his version of the events.

“Oh, well, thank you anyway, and I’m sorry to hear it. Especially because Rufus only eats vegetables. Weird. Well, nice to meet you, Ron Weasley, see you in the castle. Bye Harry, bye Ron,” Eve said, smiling at both boys who looked confused at her lack of goggling at Harry.

“Oh, and Hermione asked me to tell you to put on your robes, we’re nearly there.”

XXXXXXX

The rest of their trip went by unperturbed, and when they arrived at Hogsmeade station to be guided by the gentle giant called Hagrid, Eve and Hermione had their first view of the castle, with all the other first years.

The view was so sensational, that even the endless chatterbox that was Hermione had become speechless, trying to take in the atmosphere the castle exuded. 

Professor Minerva McGonagall was there to welcome them, and guide them all to a room, to wait for the House Selection. However that was done, Eve never managed to wring it out of her grandmother. Eve was starting to feel extremely anxious, and Hermione’s litany of random factoids about this and that was not helping matters. From the little she knew of her new friend, it seemed like she was just as anxious as Eve herself, so she understood even if it annoyed her to high heavens.

When the doors to the Great Hall were opened, and McGonagall ordered them into a double file, Hermione’s attention turned towards the ceiling, while Eve’s were focused on not tripping on her and her yearmate’s robes in front of her.

After discovering the selection was done through a Hat (that sang!) Eve relaxed a bit. Due to their last names, Eve watched as Hermione got sorted into Gryffindor, as was her wish. When Professor McGonagall called her name, she was still ruminating that she wanted to be sorted into the same House as her parents, and now her friend, so she missed the first time her Deputy Professor called her, making the older woman frown and purse her lips.

“Miss Longbottom, if you please?” Her pseudo-aunt, Minnie, now Professor McGonagall, called again, decidedly irritated on the surface but Eve knew her voice well enough to know she was slightly concerned.

Not wanting to make even more of a scene, Eve rushed to the severe woman and said, “Yes, Professor, I’m sorry.” She sat down on the stool while McGonagall slipped the mangy Hat over her head and eyes. Eve instantly jumped in her seat when the Hat ‘spoke’ to her.

‘Good eve, Eve. Heh. I guess all those years on Dumbledore’s shelves made me even battier than His Beardness. Hmmm, let me see… Loyal to a fault… Loves completely and thoroughly, and dedicated towards your goals… Doesn’t mind sharing in the glory… I believe you’d be great in Hufflepuff, they’d welcome you with open arms, and you’d most likely flourish and be happy there…’

‘Please, I want to go where my parents went, I… I want to know what it was like there, I want to share this with them, I want to see their eyes flicker when I mention it to them… Let me go there, I already even have a friend there, please, Mr Hat.’ She shifted on the stool, clasping her hands in front of her chest.

‘Hmmm...if you’re sure… you do have the bravery to succeed there, though you aren’t nearly as proud as most of them are.’

“So be it… Gryffindor!”

Eve, in her rush of emotion from having convinced the Hat of letting her join her parent’s House, ran off with the Hat still on her head, ‘til she got called back by Professor McGonagall mid-laughter of all Houses, to her embarrassment. 

She sprinted back to the professor and gave the Hat back, looking down at her feet so she wouldn’t trip, and when she slid next to Hermione, and everyone was laughing at her and the ruckus she made, she ended up laughing with them, even if she was redder than her brand-new tie.

XXXXXXX

The first week of classes was tough. From the labyrinthine formation inside Hogwarts to the number of stairs to climb, combined with the mayhem the students themselves made, Eve would’ve had trouble orienting herself if not for Hermione, with her trusty memory and unflinching determination to reach their classes.

Eve discovered that despite their Potion Master’s sour personality, she loved how it all worked, the fact that one plus one didn’t end up in two because of course this was magic, and magic didn’t bow to any laws except by itself. This drove Hermione insane but it wasn’t a hindrance to her performance.

Herbology was clearly her best class, performing even better than Hermione, every professor’s (minus Snape) favourite. Hermione didn’t seem to mind but she looked determined to surpass her friend.

Her weakest was, by far, Transfiguration, Hermione’s best. Even after hours in the common room, practising with Hermione’s advice, she still couldn’t shape the match into a needle, though it became silvery.

The week came and went, and it was Saturday, the day for their first flying lesson.

“Hey, Eve, what is that and why is it glowing red?” said Fay Dunbar, another of their dormmates, an auburn-haired waif of a girl, with more freckles than even Ron. 

Eve tried making friends with all of the girls in her dorm room, having struck more success with Fay’s milder demeanour than with Parvati’s aloofness or Lavender’s hyper frenzy of chitchat. She was cordial with them all but Hermione managed to put herself in Parvati and Lavender’s bad side by tactlessly badmouthing their favourite hobby: gossiping.

“Oh, it’s a Remembrall my Gran gave me, it glows red when I forgot something. I think it’s permanently stained that colour by now, it’s been red since we got to Hogwarts, for some reason.” Eve said, her forehead creasing in confusion.

At that moment, two things happened simultaneously. Draco Malfoy, who had come to their table to harass and instigate Harry and Ron, turned his attention towards the red ball in her hand. At the same time, a letter with her grandmother’s handwriting written on the front dropped from a diving owl, prompted Eve to groan.

“My Gran told me she’d send me anything I’d forgotten from home. But I forgot to send her my own letter telling which House I got in. Ugh, I hope she isn’t too mad. No wonder it was red all week…” Eve trailed off, grumbling to herself for not having fulfilled her promise to her Gran.

“Don’t worry about it so much, Eve, if she was mad, she’d have sent a Howler.” Fay tried to cheer her up, patting her arm gently.

As Eve was busy fiddling with the seal on her correspondence, Malfoy chose that moment to snatch the shiny orb that had been sitting in between Eve and Fay, and with a mocking smile said, “A Remembrall, Longbottom? Those are things for old ladies who can’t remember where they put their wands. Are you really that daft to need one? How far has the Longbottom fallen…”

“Oy, give that back!” Came Ron’s defence from a bit further down the table, already incensed from Malfoy’s earlier ribbing.

“Your mom is the daft one for not asking for a refund when she had you, now give me that back!” Eve nearly shouted, rising from the bench to try and snag it back, pissed at his words but mostly at him plucking her grandmother’s precious gift.

“You little bi-” 

“What is happening here?” McGonagall showed up like a hound searching for troublemakers.

“Nothing, professor, I was just admiring Longbottom’s toy.” Draco couldn’t help himself to needle before leaving.

XXXXXXX

The rest of the day passed normally, until Eve was flanked by both Hermione and Fay, with a broom in front of each of them. 

Madam Hooch explained to them what they should do, and after a little coaxing, Eve’s broom rose hesitatingly into her stretched out palm.

“On my whistle, one, two, thr- Longbottom, get down here, right now. Lean forward, slowly!”

Eve, who in her anxiety of having to fly when she was dead scared of heights, kicked off the ground too strongly and started rising uncontrollably, and despite Madam Hooch’s guidance, her broom decided to ignore the hard-earned knowledge of the flight instructor. 

No matter how Eve leaned, pulled back, pushed it sideways, even pleaded with the damned thing, nothing seemed to work. It just kept accelerating and rising. When it looked like the broom was going to take off towards the sun, it deflated like a balloon and started plummeting towards the ground. 

Eve could only scream and darkness took her.

XXXXXXX

Orange beams of light flickered through Eve’s eyelids as they fluttered open to the sound of footsteps near her bed.

Feeling shocked to wake in a different bed than what she was used to, she quickly sat up only to immediately wince at the sharp pain on her left side.

“Lie back and be still, you’re still recovering, dear. Here, drink this.” Pomfrey had strolled up to the left side of her bed and started fussing over half a dozen potion vials and a glass of water for Eve to drink.

“Wh-what happened?” Eve asked, face scrunching up from the sun’s glare.

“Eve, you fell from your broom. If Madam Hooch hadn’t slowed you down…” Came a soft, almost scared voice from her right, and only then did she notice that Harry was sitting next to her bed. “I called Madam Pomfrey when I got here, you were thrashing in the bed.”

“But… what are you doing here?” Eve asked, sitting up on the bed, despite the ‘tsking’ matron’s chiding. Though she came to regret her actions, as she covered her mouth with her hands due to a slight nausea from the potions.

“I came to give you this back. Malfoy saw it drop from your pocket and picked it up. He threatened to throw it into the lake, and I flew after it. Nearly got expelled over it too, but apparently, McGonagall needs a Seeker, whatever that is,” Harry said, running a hand through his hair, still out of sorts from remembering how she looked when she hit the ground and the following events.

He pulled out a no-longer red, shiny ball from his pocket and dropped into Eve’s hand.

“I don’t know why that git wanted it or if he was just being annoying for the sake of being annoying, but it seemed like you cared about this.” 

After an awkward pause, Eve seemed to gather her courage. “Thank you. I, uh, yes, I care a lot about it. My grandmother gave it to me one day, after visiting my parents. I was hurt, scared I’d eventually go… mad like them. That I’d lose my mind and not remember my own daughter, even if it wasn’t their fault.” She shifted in the bed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, hands trembling. “I hated them then. I just wanted them to recognize me, talk to me!”

Nearly in tears, Eve stopped to sniffle a bit while Harry flubbed to try and comfort the girl. “God, Eve. I’m so sorry.” It was now Harry’s turn to shift uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can only imagine how hard it must be. I don’t even know what my mum and dad look like.”

Eve smiled at the gesture, and continued, “It’s fine… Anyways, Gran gave me the Remembrall, so that whenever I was scared I was losing my mind, if I started to think I forgot something, anything, I’d have that to make sure I wasn’t. I go everywhere with it, and I’m beyond glad it didn’t break when I fell.” she said, letting out a watery chuckle.

Madam Pomfrey then came and shooed Harry off the Hospital Wing, saying it was late and he’d miss dinner, that Eve needed rest and would still be here in the morning if he wanted to talk. It didn’t take longer than two minutes for Eve to doze off, her mind filled with red and green floating balls.

XXXXXXX

A week later, Eve, after much arguing and explaining done with Hermione, was leaving the common room to visit her pseudo-Aunt for their tea date.

After her scare on Saturday, everyone started treating her like porcelain, afraid she’d break at even opening a door by herself. She even saw Ron clearing a spot on the sofa in fear of her hurting herself on a pillow.

So it was with a slightly harder-than-needed knock on Professor McGonagall’s office door that Eve soon regretted, based on the professor’s expression when she was invited in.

“Does my door look like a set of drums to you, Evelyn?” McGonagall asked, nostrils flaring and placing her hands on her hips.

Smiling apologetically and cheeks dusted in red, Eve said, “I’m sorry, Minnie, it’s been an… annoying week.”

“I will let this one pass, considering what happened,” Minerva said, closing the door behind the girl and walking around her desk to sit down. “You should know I sent Augusta a letter letting her know about the accident and the outcome, though she should owl you herself in the coming days.” 

A comfortable silence settled in as Eve perched herself on McGonagall’s chintz chair, transfigured just to Eve’s liking by the Professor, while a kettle in the corner of the room was being heated up with a flick of McGonagall’s wand.

“How are you feeling, honey? I got so scared when Potter explained to me what happened; I went to check with Poppy immediately after dropping him off.” McGonagall leaned forward on her chair, crossing her fingers and resting them in front of her teacup.

“I… was scared, a lot, when it happened. You know I’ve never been a fan of heights, and when the broom stopped working, didn’t respond to a single command, I just... froze.” Eve took a sip of her tea to clear her throat, refusing to meet the older woman’s eyes.

“That is normal, my dear. You have nothing to feel ashamed of. You did what you could, it is not your fault that the broom, brooms which I’ve pleaded with the Board to replace for decades, malfunctioned,” she said, lips drawing into a line.

“Anyway, how has Hogwarts been treating you, besides the obvious?”

Eve told her about her opinions on each professor and subject, to which Minerva simply turned a blind eye and acted not as her professor but as the family friend she was. And in return, McGonagall shared her impressions over Eve’s performance, both from the other professors as well as her own.

The afternoon wore on, and after many cups of tea and several biscuits, some of the homesickness that Eve had been feeling, as well as her irritation with her peers, went away, the young girl soaking in the familiarity that was Minerva’s company.

“Well, I should get going, Minnie, still have a lot of homework to do. Someone assigned me extra work for some reason, and I gotta catch up on it,” Eve said, giving her a lopsided smile and a wink for extra effect, as she walked to the door.

Minerva glared at the young girl, raising an eyebrow at her cheek. “Good evening, honey. I expect at the very least top marks, or else I will swamp you with even more homework.” 

Eve just stuck her tongue out and waved goodbye.

“Silly girl,” McGonagall said, chuckling.

XXXXXXX

As October drew to a close, the date Eve hated the most was creeping by as well. Despite Halloween being justly celebrated for the defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, it was also the day that pushed the Lestranges to stalk her parents, torturing them for over 10 hours on Bonfire Day, conveniently using the number of fireworks shot in the air to mask their screams.

So it was a tired and distracted Evelyn who walked into Potions, for the last class of the day on the 30th and plonked herself next to Fay, causing her friend to jump in her seat.

“Merlin, Eve, what’s wrong with you? You know how Snape is!” Fay chided her friend, fearful of the bat in the dungeons. 

“Sorry, Fay. Just have a bit on my mind. Besides, he’s not even here yet, stop being a scaredy-cat.” Eve poked her lightly on the side, tickling the auburn-haired girl.

“Will you stop it! You won’t be enjoying it if I start doing it back, I know your weak spots now, Miss Ticklish.” The threat worked instantly, and for the better too, as Professor Snape walked into the dungeon, long black cloak billowing, closing the doors behind him.

“Silence. Today you will be attempting to produce a passable Herbicide Potion. Instructions are on the board. Do not mess it up.” His drawl and low voice made it clear today wasn’t going to be easy.

The students rushed to work, in silence, as best as they could. Mortaring this, crushing that, back to mortaring, crushing once more. On and on it went, in that enjoyable routine Eve loved about Potions. 

Usually. 

She was a fair potioneer. Never made a mistake, always paid attention to the instructions, managed to deliver acceptable, or higher, assignments. Though it wasn’t her favourite subject, she enjoyed it, and it was a crucial one for her. So she dedicated hours weekly to study it, beyond the regular curriculum. 

Today, however, she wasn’t on point. 

So it came as a surprise when she added two blobs of Flobberworm Mucus instead of Horklump juice, resulting in a rapid inflating goo that spilt over her cauldron and into her lap, burning away her robes and searing her skin, making Eve howl in pain.

“You silly girl, what have you done? You put the mucus after the juice, since the juice stabilizes the concoction.” Snape swooped in and vanished the rest of the failed potion, stopping it from harming Eve further, though her legs had been hurt extensively already. “Miss Dunbar, escort Longbottom to the Hospital Wing.”

Eve, with the assistance of Fay and a numbing charm from Snape, hobbled in tears up the castle, until they finally pushed open the doors and found an already busy Madam Pomfrey, attending to another student. As soon as she saw the door opening up, however, she glanced back and simply pointed towards the nearest bed to the girls, raising a finger.

After no less than a minute, she arrived at the bed Eve had hopped on, already transfiguring Eve’s robes into a hospital gown, and summoning a few flasks from her cabinet.

“Professor Snape sent word of what happened, rest assured, there’ll be no permanent damage, but it will take a bit to heal. You can go now, Miss Dunbar,” she said, gesturing towards the door for Fay, then unstoppering a vial and prompting Eve to drink.

“Twice in two months, Miss Longbottom. Are you going to try for a hat-trick, my dear?”

“It, it wasn’t on purpose! I mixed up the potion, and then everything spilt and it hurt so much, and it nearly got to Fay, I’m sorry, I never do that, I don’t know what happened, can you apologize to Professor Snape for me? Explain I didn’t mean to do-” 

Eve’s ramble was cut short with a silencing spell and Pomfrey holding her wildly gesturing hands in between her own. 

“Calm down. Everything’s okay, no one is mad at you. Accidents happen and we have a Hospital Wing for this reason. No one is hurt, except you, and if you don’t settle down, it’s going to take even longer. So calm down.” Pomfrey’s no-nonsense attitude and practical tone did wonders to allay Eve’s panic.

“Here, drink this, it’s going to make you drowsy almost instantly, so settle in the bed. I’ll wake you up when it’s time for dinner.”

Eve pulled the covers up and then acquiesced with the matron’s order. In less than a couple of breaths, Morpheus greeted her with open arms.

XXXXXXX

A day later, Eve’s legs were all healed up, and she was starting to get antsy to leave the Hospital Wing, though Madam Pomfrey made her sit through her dinner before letting the girl head to Gryffindor Tower.

Upon arrival, she noticed the tense atmosphere that permeated the common room, as well as the fact that for some reason, part of the feast was brought to be served as a buffet, as if the Halloween feast had been cut short. Eve was curious but mostly ignored it, already satisfied from her personal diner.

She strode in, looking for either Fay or Hermione to sit with, and spotting the auburn-haired girl sitting in a corner with a book on her lap, with no sign of Hermione elsewhere, Eve decided to not disturb the girl and head up to their dorm.

Hermione was already in bed, with the other four empty. Moving quietly, Eve changed into her bedclothes and did her nightly ablutions, slipping into her bed with a content sigh. Within moments, she fell asleep.

All too soon, though, she was awoken by the sound of sobs, at what seemed to be hours later judging from the position of the moon. Looking around, she saw Hermione’s outline thrashing in her bed. 

Pushing the covers off and sliding off the bed, she hissed when her warm feet touched the cold stone. Walking silently towards the brunette’s bed, she noticed that the rest of the girls were still sound asleep.

As soon as her hand touched Hermione’s shoulder, the girl’s eyes snapped open and she sat up in alarm, breathing heavily and promptly started crying again. Eve immediately did what her grandmother always did when she had a nightmare, and wrapped the girl in her arms, rubbing her back and whispering comforting, nonsensical words.

After a few minutes, the crying subsided and she was left with a lot of snot on her tee and a hiccuping girl on her shoulder. Brushing Hermione’s hair with her other hand, she asked, “What’s wrong, Hermione? Missing home? Christmas is around the corner, you’ll soon see them.”

“N-no, I was there when the t-troll started smashing the ba-bathroom, and it would’ve k-k-killed me if it weren’t fo-for Ronald and Harry!” she said, trying to hold the hiccups in to not make too much more noise and rubbing her cheeks free of tears.

“Wait, troll? What troll, where did it come from? I assume you weren’t hurt, else I’d have seen you at the infirmary. And what do they have to do with you? I thought you and Ron hated each other,” 

“I d-don’t know where it came from. All I know is that it b-b-broke into the castle and Harry stuck his wand in the b-beast’s nose while Ron knocked it out. I couldn’t move, I just fr-froze, it was so big and-” A sob cut her halfway, prompting Eve to resume petting her head and rubbing her arms.

“It’s okay, you’re safe, everyone’s safe. You want me to call Pomfrey or take you there?”

Hermione just shook her head and burrowed deeper into Eve’s chest. After an hour or so of Eve telling anything and everything trying to distract or comfort Hermione, both ended up dozing off in Hermione’s bed.

When they woke up, the other three girls were still fast asleep, and Eve convinced Hermione to talk to Madam Pomfrey in case she thought some counseling was needed. After some grumbling, Hermione picked up her things and walked into the bathroom.

When she came out, she started fidgeting, shuffling from one foot to the other, face red. “Uhm, Eve? Can you...not tell anyone what happened? I, I don’t want them to think I’m...weak.” She pointed with her head at the other girl’s direction.

“Of course I won’t, don’t be silly. And you’re not. You think I didn’t cry like you did after the broom accident? These things happen, there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” she said, crossing the room to give Hermione a hug, who reciprocated with a strength belying her size.

“Thanks, Eve.”

XXXXXXX

Winter break had come, and with it, the much-needed trip back to her home, to her room and privacy, but most importantly, to her grandmother’s arms. Even the scolding from both of her accidents wasn’t a big deal when she could just marvel at the fact she was with Gran again. She had never been away for this long from her grandmother, and the distance really showed her how much she missed the venerable Dowager Longbottom.

Unlike most other years, however, they did their customary trip to St. Mungos a bit earlier than usual, since they would be going on a vacation with Uncle Algie to Switzerland, with an ulterior motive in the form of a rumour about a possible cure for magical-inflicted dementia.

And it was amidst bubblegum wrappers and hair brushing that Eve remembered something that had been nagging at the back of her head. “Gran, do you have any pictures of the Potters left? When I...fell from the broom, Harry came to visit and he mentioned he’d never seen how they looked like.”

Augusta raised her eyebrows, bemused, and replied, “Are you and Hagrid working on something?”

It was now Eve’s turn to be confused. “What do you mean? I don’t think I ever spoke to Mr Hagrid. What does he have to do with the Potters?”

“He also asked me, and apparently any friends of the Potters for photos of them. I sent him almost all of them that I had. I didn’t know you would want them, my dear, I apologize,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her.

“It’s okay. You said you still had a few? Can I have them?”

“Yes, of course, though I think the only ones I have left are of Lily and Alice,” Augusta said, crossing her arms and rubbing her chin with a hand.

Grinning at her grandmother, she simply said, “Thanks, Gran.”

XXXXXXX

The rest of the holiday passed quickly, and though the rumours turned to be just that, they still had a thoroughly enjoyable trip, even climbing the Alps and being regaled to a story about soldiers and white flowers from her Uncle, from his war days. She tuned out most of it but she did find it romantic, and said as much, earning herself an eye roll from Algernon and a chuckle from her Gran.

The Christmas market of Lucerne was delightfully filled with delicious pastries, crepes, scalding raclette, and pain d’épices, not to mention the ridiculous number of handcrafted toys, candles, soaps, ornaments, all enchanted to be perpetually alight, or create bubbles that made you levitate for a bit, or that made the trees shine with an ethereal glow. Eve ended up buying two handknit scarves, one green for Fay, and another blue for Hermione, with enchanted threads for comfort, self-cleaning, and temperature adjustment.

They even managed to see an actual glowing donkey during Samichlaus Abend, that delivered all sorts of gifts to the congregated people in the Swiss equivalent of Diagon Alley, Nordplatz. Santa didn’t come alone, however, and his companion was so frightening, Eve thought it was one of those horrible Dementors she’d read about.

So it was with a bittersweet mood that they took their portkey back to England, just a day prior to the start of the second term. 

Eve met with her friends on the Express and gave them her gifts, and they all shared their holidays, laughing and enjoying themselves for the fact that it was just the three of them for once.

When the trio walked into Gryffindor’s common room, they heard someone yell Eve’s name and Harry quickly walked up to them.

“Eve, can we talk? Hey Hermione, Fay, good holiday?” His nervous energy apparent in his voice, as well as some- was that apprehension? Why he’d be like that, Eve had no clue.

“Uh, yeah, of course. Lead the way,” Eve said, turning around towards the Fat Lady, from whence they came.

They walked for a while, a heavy and slightly awkward silence between the two, until they got to a nearby classroom, and sat with a couple of tables in between themselves.

“So, uhm, what’s this about, Harry? Everything’s ok? Did you have a good holiday?” she asked, trying to break the ice and prompt the black-haired boy to speak.

Harry raked his hand through his hair, bleeding anxiety in his every move. “Y-yeah, it was the best holiday I ever had, thanks. What about you? I, uhh, wanted to thank you. People here always talk about my dad, how I’m just like him, so I always had an idea of what he looked like...but you gave me something I-I’ve never had.” His voice wavered and his eyes glistened but he pushed through and continued. 

“I never knew even their names until Hagrid told me. And thanks to you, I can now also see her whenever I want. So t-thank you, Eve,” he said, clearing the hitch in his throat, lowering his head and looking at the floor, the tip of his ears pinking as he went on.

Glossy eyed and smiling sadly, she got up and walked to the nearest chair to Harry, sitting in front of him. Putting her hand on top of his, she said, “You’re welcome, Harry. It’s not fair what happened, and I couldn’t not do something, anything. I’d have given you more but we’re short on photos for now, sorry.”

Harry turned his palm up to hold her hand and nodded his gratitude, words failing him. They stayed in that comfortable silence for a while, each thinking about their parents and imagining what their lives would’ve been with them in it.

Clearing his throat, Harry rose from his chair, still holding Eve’s hand, and pointed at the door with his head. “We should probably go, no? They’ll be worried, I think, and I still have to ask Hermione for help on my Potions homework,” he said, grinning sheepishly. 

“Lead the way,” she repeated her words from earlier, looking down at their still joined hands, and smiling back at him.

XXXXXXX

As the months went by, exam season finally knocked on their door, and Hermione co-opted Fay and Eve to help finagle Ron and Harry into studying with them. After the whole debacle with the dragon and the following loss of points and detention, Eve found Hermione crying over receiving the first detention in her life, and due to the loss of 50 points each, both Hermione and Harry became pariahs in Gryffindor.

The result of this? Lots and lots of library time. Fay was a bit annoyed at first from the point loss but quickly shrugged off, stating they had more important things to care about. Eve just smiled and agreed, inviting the auburn-haired girl to their study sessions. And it was in one of those sessions that Harry ended up spilling to them what happened and why.

They all managed fairly well, with the exception of History of Magic for everyone not named Hermione Granger. Eve had a bit of trouble trying to remember the correct recipe for the Forgetfulness Potion, from all the heat and fumes inside the dungeon, while Ron had some issues with the whiskers on his snuffbox. But the worst exam by far was the stuffy and boiling hot, garlic-scented room for their Defense Against the Dark Arts exam.

The five of them were sitting near the lakeshore, under the shadow of a tree, enjoying the weather and chatting nonsense (with Hermione going over again every answer in her tests to be sure she got them right) when Harry suddenly jumped to his feet, waking up Ron from his nap.

“Uhm, sorry girls, but I need to borrow Ron and Hermione for something, we’ll see you later,” he said, pulling Ron up and offering his hand to Hermione.

Fay and Eve just watched with raised eyebrows and then looked at each other. “You got any clue what’s that about?” Fay asked, slightly hurt from being left out of the loop.

“Nope. The three of them always seemed to be talking about something whenever I’d come by, and then would change the subject. Whatever it is, I just hope they don’t get into more trouble, but considering even Hermione lately…” Eve trailed off, worry clearly etched on her face, biting her lower lip.

“Yeah, well...wanna play a game of Exploding Snap?”

“Sure.”

XXXXXXX

Four days later, Eve strolled into the Hospital Wing to check up on Harry, who, according to Ron and Hermione, was restless and bored from being bedridden, in his words ‘for no good reason’.

Seeing that Harry was indeed awake and staring at the ceiling with glazed eyes, she approached his bed and sat herself on its end, the corners of her mouth quirking up. “Hey, Harry, how’re you doing? Hermione told me to come bother you since you needed a distraction, and considering I’m also bored, I thought we could kill two flubberworms with one flick.”

Smiling back at her, Harry brought his eyes over to her chubby, rounded face and responded, “Smart witch. You wouldn’t have thought to bring a deck of cards or something, would you? I love Pomfrey to pieces, but I’ll go mad if I’ve to stay here one day longer.”

“Nope, no cards, but I did bring you something to read. Gran invited you over during the summer if your muggle family won’t mind. I mean, they might want to go on a trip, right?”

“The Dursleys? Take me on a trip? They’d sooner wear tutus and ask Dumbledore for a dance.” He snorted at the mental picture he himself invoked. “No, no trips. I don’t know if I’ll be allowed to leave them, though. Dumbledore told me I have to stay at their house, something about my mum’s last blood relative or some rot. Thank you for the invite, though, and thank your Gran for me, please.”

“What? Why can’t you leave the house? That doesn’t make any sense.” Her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. 

“Yeah, I don’t know either. He told me yesterday when I woke up after the… thing.” 

His hesitation prompted Eve to ask, “About that… can you tell me what happened? Neither Ron nor Hermione told us a single thing,” she nibbled on her lower lip, worried he might shut up or get mad.

He sighed but acquiesced with her prodding. “It’s a long story, you’re sure you want to listen to it? It isn’t fun either.”

She just shuffled on the bed to find a more comfortable position and then nodded for him to carry on. “Well, you know who Nicholas Flamel is? He’s the only known maker of the Philosopher’s Stone…”

Harry’s tale lasted for a couple of hours, leaving him parched and raw. By the end of it, everything that happened to him four days ago must’ve come up to the surface, for he started choking up when he described the Mirror Room.

“...and then I grabbed his face, and it started boiling. I could smell it… Dumbledore told me I didn’t, that he was already dead when he chose to let Voldemort.” He paused upon seeing Eve’s massive shudder, but continued, “Sorry. Anyway, he said he was already dead, but Eve, I killed him. I, I could see him going and turning to ash. I did that!”

At this, he started sobbing, pulling his legs up and hugging his knees, burrowing his head onto them. Eve jumped off the bed and went to his side and slid an arm over his shoulders after sitting on the bed again, next to him.

Rocking him and rubbing his back, she said in a low voice, “Dumbledore was right Harry, it’s not your fault. He would’ve probably died in minutes as soon as You-Know-Who left his body, used up like a popped gobstone.”

Harry stayed quiet but his sobbing reduced a tiny amount, so she continued, “You’re not a killer, Harry. You’re not a monster, and no one is going to be freaked out by what you did in self-defence. We’re all just happy you’re alive.” She ignored the slight start he gave at the ‘freaked out’, threading a hand through his hair, just like her Gran used to do whenever she had a nightmare.

“Besides, even if you were a killer, I’m sure Hermione would find a way to make it the perfect crime and hide any evidence.” Her attempt at a joke must’ve worked, for he let out a watery chuckle and raised his head from his arms, meeting her honey-coloured eyes.

“Thanks, Eve. And, uh, sorry for crying,” he gestured towards himself, face reddening and the tip of his ears pinking.

She got off the bed but still held his shoulder. “Don’t mention it, happens to the best of us,” Eve said, smiling gently at him.

The rest of the afternoon sped by, with lighter topics and several laughs, a couple of visitors, promises of letter and gift exchange, and ending, for Harry’s glee, with Madam Pomfrey clearing him and letting him escape his ‘prison’.

All in all, despite loving being at Hogwarts, learning magic, and making new friends, Eve was ready to go back home for the summer and see her grandmother again. 

A/N - First year done. I probably won’t be able to fit all years into one chapter per, but that’s the aim, at least til fourth year. Year 4 and 5 should be quite longer (not looking forward at all to writing all that shit). 

I have basically everything plotted out, but considering my notes already changed enough from when I started, who knows. I won’t be going over year 5, that’s when the story should end. But we’ll see.

This was beta’ed by AppoApples and Frickles, check their profile on my profile, they’re both fantastic authors and have helped me a lot over our period working together. Thank you so much both of you, and everyone else who supported me!

I also have a blog where I talk a bit about beta in general. I'd link it, but it’s easier if you just google Nauze’s Nerd Nest.


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